We would like to thank the local libraries, schools, and universities for recommending students to visit us when doing research on any of our information topics.
Please check back frequently as new topics are added and current topics are updated daily.

Hurricane Katrina Donations Could be Many Millions More -
eBay Sellers Try in Vain to Help

Yesterday I saw a mention in someone's email ezine about a
kind person who had an eBay auction with the proceeds going 100%
to help victims of the horrible Hurricane Katrina.

It struck a chord with me because I had wanted to set up
something similar, but found that the "eBay Giving Works" charity
program seems to be terribly flawed for us small sellers. I had
researched it the day before, eBay goes through Mission Fish to
handle the administrative tasks and distribution.

Here in a nutshell is how I understand it works. You set up an
eBay auction and pledge a percentage of the proceeds to go to a
charity. You pick the one you like. If the auction sells, the
buyer pays you, and Mission Fish charges your credit card, taking
out $3.00 per transaction for their fees, plus 3% to cover credit
card fees. That's reasonable, they need to cover their overhead
and payroll expenses. Then Mission Fish sends the balance to the
charity.

The minimum donation per item has to be $10.00. Again, so far
so good, I can understand that.

Now, I noticed in the auction that I visited that the seller
had set up a dutch auction, with 1000 "lots" available, each for
$1.00 each, with the proceeds going 100% to her favorite charity
that would get food to the Katrina victims. I was about to place
a bid for several $1.00 lots (a dutch auction lets you "win" as
many of the item as you like, all at the same price).

Then it hit me, why couldn't I do the same kind of dutch
auction, maybe she had found the way to get around the $10.00 per
item restriction, and found that it was a minimum $10.00 per
auction. It would only make sense that it would work that way,
since Mission Fish charges the seller's credit card, if all 1000
lots sold, that would be $1000 for the charity, Mission Fish
would take $3.00 plus 3%, the seller would collect (hopefully)
the $1000 from the buyers, and all she would be on the hook for
would be the eBay fees. Those fees, plus her hard work, would be
her personal contribution.

So I went back to eBay and Mission Fish and researched the
deal again. I found out that sure enough, in a multiple item
auction, Mission Fish requires a $10.00 donation from the seller
for EVERY ITEM that sells in a multiple-item auction (dutch
auction).

So, if the seller had 1000 lots at $1.00 each, and they all
sold, Mission Fish would have charged her credit card on file for
$10.00 for each lot, a total of $10,000.00! And they would have
taken their $3.00 + 3% fee for each of those 1000 lots, more than
$3,000.00 for their trouble!

At that point, I realized the seller either had deep pockets
and was matching contributions 10 to 1, or she misunderstood what
would happen to her. I sent her an email, and to end a long
story, she indeed misunderstood, was obviously fairly upset at
the prospect of paying $10,000, and ended the auction early.

Now, I'd like my readers to do one of two things. If you think
that eBay and Mission Fish are mishandling the charity program,
as I do, please contact one or both and point them to this blog
entry, or just write your own letter with your thoughts.

eBay is always more difficult to contact, but you can try
starting here:
http://pages.eBay/help/contact_us/_base/index.html

The other thing you could do is support the eBay seller's
cause, she had to end the auction but she took the trouble to set
up a web page for donations, you can access and support it
here:
http://www.flipidy.com/secondharvest.htm

Perhaps with enough pressure on Mission Fish, they'll get
together with eBay and allow dutch auctions to be counted as a
single donation, instead of multiple individual items, and
encourage more charity in the future.

For those with homes, families, relatives or friends in the
devasted area, my hearts and prayers go out to you. I hope this
information will in some small way help someone somewhere.

Dennis Becker is author of a regular blog about different ways
of earning money on the Internet, titled appropriately enough
"Success On The
Internet".

Christie's to Auction Rare Watch once Owned by Egypt's King FaroukAsharq Al-awsat EnglishAn exhibitor displays the Patek Philippe 18k gold perpetual chronograph wrist watch with moon phases belonging to the King Farouk, at the Christie's auction in Dubai. (Reuters). Asharq Al-Awsat. A rare gold watch once owned by Egypt's King Farouk is ...

Competitive auctions secure top sales in the southeastNEWS.com.auCompetitive auctions secure top sales in the southeast. PROPERTIES in Maroubra performed strongly over the weekend, with a five-bedroom home and two-bedroom unit breaking records this week. Check out why these properties scored the big bucks ...

Rare Books at Auction This WeekFine Books & Collections Magazine (blog)Five auctions to watch this week, leading off with a Wednesday, March 21 sale of Fine Books and Manuscripts at Bonhams London. The 408 lots include items from the collections of Charles Benson, Esq. (lots 45-65), Capt. J.D.G. Fortescue (lots 110-154 ...

EOS: Set for a Slide Based on Auction Statistics?CryptovestThe EOS digital asset will continue for a while with the daily auctions, but what is the fair price? author by Christine Masters , 19 March. Subscribe. articleStartImage. The EOS network is approaching its launch - however, the market price of the ...

RELATED AUCTION INFORMATION ARTICLES:eBay - Getting More Bids
Using An Auction Preview
If you sell in small niches as I recommend and are
organized enough that you know what you will be listing on
eBay 1 to 2 weeks ahead of time, you should give serious
thought to previewing your upcoming auctions for your
customers. The result can be increased sales and higher
final bids.
Online Auction Sellers -
Seize Control Of Your Business!
As the online auction model of business continues to evolve
toward a more commoditized, corporate marketplace, it is
time for online auction sellers to seize control of their
business, before it's too late. In this article we will
highlight some effective steps you can take to shift
control back to your own business.
How To Sell On eBay: The
Money Is In The Back-End
Many people who sell on eBay completely neglect the
follow-up process. They post an auction.
eBay Feedback, 5 Key
Things All eBayers Should Know
eBay's user feedback system is one of the site's most
important components. Without the conscientious comments
recorded by both buyers and sellers, there would be no way
for anyone to build up a trustworthy reputation in the
nearly anonymous realm of cyberspace.
Auction Seller Guide To
Success
When its time to clean-up around the house, some people
have a hard time deciding what to keep and what to throw
out. What they need is an incentive.
Joint Venture For eBay
Success Too!
Whether you're succeeding in your online auction attempts,
just getting by, or failing to make money; Joint Ventures
Can, and almost certainly will, Multiply Your Income
Without Spending A Single Penny!Joint Venture, or JV, is a
big general term for setting up creative ways to cross
promote or cross market with other people Just Like You.How
do I know.
From eBay Zero to
Power-Selling Hero: How To Learn New Tricks Without
Spending
The Internet is the fastest-changing marketplace on earth.
Million-dollar ideas from one year ago might not generate a
single penny today.
Selling on eBay? Heres a
Success Tip for Your Online Auctions
Are you planning to sell on eBay? Or have you tried in the
past but not had much success with your online auctions? If
so, here's a strategy that has worked very well for me.In
my experience, the auction lots where I created a useful
collection of related items got more bids and closed at
higher prices than auction lots that were all one thing.
So What Are YOU Going To
Do About eBays Fee Increases?
Unless you have been hiding under a rock, I am sure that by
now you have heard that eBay is raising its fees. So what's
a small merchant to do? Here are some suggestions.
Buying At Auction: 6
Hints to Make You a Successful Bidder
Buying at auction, be it for stamps or coins, antiques or
even cattle, can be one of the most exciting and profitable
experiences possible. It can also be expensive and utterly
frustrating.
eBay Auction Selling
Secrets - Using eBay to Launch Your Very Own Highly
Successful Website
Launching your very own successful website is the dream of
many people worldwide because it is a new way to make money
and be employed by oneself with little overhead. So, once
you have your website you will need traffic to make it
successful.
Profitable Paper Piecing
on eBay--Part 1
Why sell paper piecings on eBay?eBay is a great way to make
a steady part-time or full-time income from a hobby that
you love! Selling paper piecings has its ups and downs, but
overall it is a rewarding and lucrative venture.Getting and
Understanding An eBay AccountTo get started selling paper
piecings on eBay, you will need to set up an account.
Your eBay Username -
What Does It Say About You?
Have you tried to register a decent eBay username and been
frustrated at the poor names left available? With over 125
million people using eBay in 2004 it is understandable that
a lot of the good ones have gone.How important is
registering a good eBay username (User ID) anyway? Well
that depends - you may be wanting to register a username
for business use so getting the right one would be
important.
5 Ways to Drive Traffic
Away from Your eBay Auction
eBay is a one-stop solution to any one who wants to make
money online. Whether you just selling a few unwanted items
from around your house or your want to develop a work from
home business, eBay removes many of the obstacles for you.
Taxing eBay Part
Deux
When my column on paying income tax on eBay profits ran it
brought a wave of emails on whether you were required to
report income earned from eBay sales to the IRS sparked a
number of additional questions and comments from eBay
sellers who were hoping that I could somehow validate that
their eBay activities were mere hobbies instead of actual
businesses and therefore not susceptible to IRS
taxation.Several folks argued that just because their
little eBay hobby generated a little cash, that didn't make
it a full blown business.
What YOU Must Know About
The Advantages And Pitfalls Of Dropshipping
The following may be the most important information about
dropshipping you will find.Dropshipping can be a great way
to get started with your online venture.
Top Internet
Businesses
The internet is packed with web businesses jockeying for
the attention of regular users. Selling everything under
the sun and offering a substantial array of services, the
internet is quickly becoming the favorite of users,
surpassing traditional catalog and store shopping.
Free Auction Templates:
How to Set Your Border Color With FOAM
If you have not heard of Foamtemplates.com yet, home of the
"Free Online Auction Maker", now is a good time to get your
feet wet.
Mail Order: The Original
Internet Still Going Strong
While the world continues to go catatonic over the Internet
and its endless possibilities, there's another industry
quietly going about its business, piling up profitable year
after profitable year after profitable year. What industry
is that? It's the mail order industry--or as I prefer to
call it, "the original Internet!" Yes, long before the birth
and explosion of the Internet, mail order shopping was a
hugely popular and preferred method of doing business--and
still is.
How To Convert eBay
Surfers into Bidders!
Do you know the phrase "A Call To Action"? Well, using "A
Call To Action" on your eBay Auction could help increase
your sales almost immediately. As outlined in my book "eBay
Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" having the right product, at
the right price is crucial.